From Senegal's Victory to Morocco's Coronation.. Africa Cup of Nations Title Before the Court of Arbitration for Sport

CAS clarified that the session will not result in a final decision, as the panel will begin its deliberations after hearing from the parties involved in the case.

From Senegal's Win to Morocco's Coronation

The tournament final was held on January 18 in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and ended with a 1-0 victory for Senegal after extra time.

The crisis erupted during stoppage time after the referee awarded a penalty kick to Morocco, which Brahim Díaz missed, before the Senegalese players left the pitch in protest of the decision, only to return about 15 minutes later to complete the match.

Senegal secured the final with a goal in extra time, but the CAF Appeals Committee decided on March 17 to declare them losers by a 3-0 scoreline and administratively award the title to Morocco.

The decision was based on tournament regulations that prohibit any team from leaving the pitch before the end of the match without the referee's permission.

The Senegalese Federation rejected the decision and insisted on the result achieved on the pitch, before turning to CAS to challenge the CAF ruling.

Dispute over a result decided on the pitch

The Senegalese appeal is based on what is known as the "field of play doctrine," in addition to Law 5.2 of the Laws of the Game, which states that the referee's decisions regarding match facts are final.

Sports law researcher Thibault Ulrich believes the case presents an unusual precedent, stating that he does not know of any previous case where a national team was stripped of a title it won on the pitch and whose result was validated by the referee.

Ulrich points out that CAF adopted a strict interpretation of the regulations, while the Congolese referee allowed the match to resume after the Senegalese players returned to the pitch, considering that deciding match results on the field is a fundamental principle for maintaining the credibility of competitions.

The repercussions of the case have gone beyond the pitch, after the Senegalese government called for an international investigation into corruption suspicions within CAF, which the African federation denied, affirming the independence of its disciplinary bodies.

The CAF decision to dismiss legal expert Yassine Osman Robleh, 15 days before the hearing, also sparked further controversy, as he had been tasked for years with monitoring the integrity of the federation's procedures.

CAS will begin its deliberations after Thursday's session, with a decision to be issued at a later date.